True Friends
by temperanceluvr
Summary: A passionate aspiring Pokémon photographer/breeder, a little sister who wants to stay with her older brother, and a young girl who will do yearns for an absent father notice her. A journey starts, paths cross, and friendships are made.
1. Backstory

Ash Ketchum was just your average ten year old. He loved Pokémon and wanted to go out on a journey to become a Pokémon master. However, his little sister, Faith, who was eight years old, loved to spend time with her big brother. Ash didn't mind it when he was younger, but now she had become a nuisance. Sometimes Ash would go through the whole day just trying to avoid spending time with Faith, and Faith, in turn, would spend the whole day trying to spend time with Ash. All in all, the Ketchum household was just like any other in Pallet Town, save for the occasional afternoon squabbles between Ash and Faith. Ash would never admit it—out loud anyway—but he really enjoyed it whenever his sister would show him things she had drawn before she would show them to anyone else. Faith loved to draw pictures of Pokémon and when Ash was preparing for his Pokémon journey, she drew pictures of him with all three starters as good luck for whichever one he chose. It was hard for him to imagine her not being around.

Ash had become friends with Gary Oak, even if they didn't act like friends most of the time. Faith, who was following Ash around everywhere, became friends with Gary's older sister, Kylee. Kylee didn't share her brother's semi-narcissistic attitude. Instead she shared the same passion toward Pokémon that her grandfather had. Being four years older than her, Kylee took on the role of being Faith's older sister. She helped Faith learn about Pokémon and the basics of Pokémon battling but most of all, she taught Faith how important it is to befriend Pokémon. She even taught Faith a few recipes for Pokémon food that she made up herself. Everyone thought that Kylee would become a Pokémon professor like her grandfather, but Kylee's true passion was in Pokémon photography and capturing the natural beauty inside each and every Pokémon. Kylee wanted to become a Pokémon photographer as well as a Pokémon breeder.

In Viridian City, a nearby town, a ten year old girl named Samantha studied hard to learn as much about Pokémon as she could. Her father would not allow her to slack in the slightest and was preparing her to take over his organization when the time came. Much to her father's surprise, Samantha was a prodigy when it came to Pokémon battling. She knew each Pokémon's strengths and weakness and was able to make calculated decisions in a matter of seconds during the heat of battle. He rewarded her progress by giving her a young strangely colored Meowth that one of his agents had brought to him. She cared for it and soon it evolved into a beautiful Persian. Her Persian stays at her side, much like her father's Persian stays by his, and does not ever go inside a pokéball.

These girls may seem to have nothing in common, but little do they know that they were destined to learn from each other and become the best of friends. And so our story begins…


	2. Chapter 1

The day had finally come for Ash Ketchum to start his Pokémon journey. He was running late in the morning, but was soon stepping out of Professor Oak's lab with his first Pokémon, Pikachu, at his side. All of Pallet Town was standing outside with banners and tambourines and streamers to show Ash their support. However, something did not appear to be right… his little sister was not there.

_I wonder where Faith is…_ Ash wondered as he surveyed the crowd. _She normally follows me everywhere. Why isn't she here to see me off? Maybe she didn't want to say goodbye._

Ash's mom handed him his backpack and together, Ash and Pikachu began their journey. Ash had to drag Pikachu out of Pallet Town because he wouldn't obey him. Finally Ash stopped and untied Pikachu trying to become friends with his new Pokémon.

"Can't we be friends, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"ASH!"

Ash looked up and saw Faith running toward him, dressed in her blue jean shorts and her favorite shirt, her pink messenger bag hanging at her side. Something was different about her though, because even though Faith had long black hair, she almost never wore it up… but today it was held up into two high ponytails by pokéball hair ties.

"Faith—what are you doing?" Ash asked her, surprised to see her outside of Pallet Town.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going with you!" Faith replied smiling.

"What—you can't! You're not old enough to go on a Pokémon journey!" Ash exclaimed. Faith folded her arms and pouted. "Besides, you don't even have a Pokémon."

Her face lit up. "I don't have a Pokémon like you, but I _do_ have this…" Faith replied pulling a Pokémon egg out of her messenger bag and showing it to him. "I just saw it lying in the grass while I was running to catch you and thought it might be lonely."

"You can't just take a Pokémon egg! What if its parent is looking for it?" Ash scolded.

"There weren't any Pokémon nearby, so I think it's okay Ash. Geez, you're such a spaz." Faith said rolling her eyes. "Let's go already~"

Ash sighed. He knew that there was no arguing with Faith—well, no way of arguing and _winning_, that is. "Fine, you can come—wait, does mom know about this?" he asked.

"Don't worry, I left her a note."

"Okay then… I guess that's okay… now if only I could just get Pikachu to listen to me… it's so stubborn and won't listen to a thing I say."

Faith started laughing and Ash looked down to see Faith holding Pikachu in her arms. Pikachu was nuzzling her cheek and seemed to like her.

"I don't know what you're talking about Ash—Pikachu seems to be very friendly to me." Faith giggled looking over at him.

Ash was dumbfounded. His own Pokémon preferred his annoying little sister over him! They heard something in the grass ahead of them and turned to see a Pidgey.

"Alright, this is going to be easy. Pikachu, go get it!" Ash said pointing to the Pidgey.

"Pi," Pikachu turned away from Ash.

"Aren't you ever going to listen to me?" Ash asked.

Pikachu shook its head.

"Fine, I don't want your help—or need it!" Ash said angrily. "I can get that thing all by myself!"

"Ash, what are you doing?" Faith asked as Ash pulled out a pokéball.

"Pokéball go!" He threw the ball at the Pidgey. He glared intensely as the ball shook for a bit before the Pidgey came back out and escaped into the tall grass.

Faith shook her head. "Ash, don't you know anything?" she sighed. "You're supposed to _weaken_ a wild Pokémon with your _own_ Pokémon first, _then_ you throw your pokéball at it!" Pikachu laughed and Ash glared at them.

"I _know_ what I'm doing!" Ash yelled angrily. "I don't need my little sister telling me what to do!" Ash picked up a rock and threw it toward another Pidgey that poked its head out of the tall grass, hitting it on the head. "I got it! There, you see?" he said triumphantly turning back to his sister.

Faith gulped. "Um… Ash…?"

Ash sighed with irritation. "What now?"

Faith pointed behind Ash as a flock of angry Spearow came out of a tree and began flying toward them. Ash quickly grabbed Faith's hand and they took off running.

"You idiot—that was a Spearow you hit, not a Pidgey!" Faith shouted at him as they ran. Pikachu ran beside them and Faith held on tightly to her Pokémon egg. "Spearow are very aggressive and ill-tempered! Don't you know anything?!"

"Just shut up and keep running!" Ash shouted back.

As they ran, the Spearow continued to pursue the trio until they were able to use their peck attack on them. Faith let go of Ash's hand and shielded her Pokémon egg with her arms as best she could from the attack. Pikachu fell to the ground and the Spearow swarmed around it.

"Get away from Pikachu!" Ash shouted at the Spearow as he rushed to his Pokémon's aid. He carried Pikachu in his arms as he and his sister continued to run.

They came upon a small waterfall and had only moments before the Spearow would catch up to them again.

"We'll have to find another way." Faith said looking around quickly.

"There's no time for that, we've gotta jump." Ash said turning his hat around.

"WHAT?!"

Before she could protest, Ash grabbed Faith's hand and they jumped into the river below them. The current was strong and Faith's grip on Ash's hand was beginning to slip. A Gyarados swam toward them and startled Ash, causing him to momentarily let go of Faith's hand. Before he could grab onto her hand again, the current became too strong for her and Faith was swept further down the river and away from her brother.

***Faith POV***

I managed to pull myself out of the water and onto the riverbank. I looked around, but I had been swept so far down the river that I didn't see Ash anywhere.

"Ash is so stupid!" I said getting up. I tried to dry off my Pokémon egg with my shirt, even though it was soaking wet. I walked along the river to try and find my brother somewhere upstream. "He never does anything right!"

"Hey, that's my bike!" a girl shouted ahead of me. I ran toward her voice and saw a girl with orange hair. She saw me and gasped, "Oh my gosh—are you alright? You're soaking wet!"

"I think I'm alright, I just need to find my brother." I said walking over to her. "He's so stupid and we were being chased by a bunch of Spearow and—"

"No way—the kid who took my bike was being chased by Spearow!" she exclaimed.

"Really? Which way did he go?" I asked.

"He was headed for the nearest Pokémon Center in Viridian City. C'mon, I'll go with you." She said as she picked up her bag. "I need to get my bike back from him anyway. My name's Misty, by the way. What's your name?"

"Faith," I replied with a smile

As we made our way through the forest, the sky began to darken and I heard a low roar of thunder. My body froze. Misty turned around, "What's the matter? You okay Faith?"

A bolt of lightning flashed in the sky and I shut my eyes, holding tightly onto my Pokémon egg. Ever since I was little, I had been scared of thunderstorms. The unpredictable bright flashes of light and the loud roaring of thunder always made my body tense up in fear.

Misty looked around and pointed to a large tree nearby. "We can stay here until the storm passes, alright?" she said comfortingly. I nodded furiously and we hurried to take cover beneath the tree's branches.

***Kylee POV***

I looked at my shopping list and the items in my bag as Wartortle and I walked around Viridian City. "Well Wartortle, it looks like we've gotten everything Grandpa told us to get." I said to my Pokémon companion. "If we get an early start tomorrow morning, we should make it back home before lunch."

Wartortle and I walked into the Pokémon Center and over to the phones. I was about to call Grandpa when Officer Jenny screeched to a halt at the front desk on her motorcycle.

"We _have_ a driveway you know." Nurse Joy said to her sternly, as if this wasn't the first time this had happened.

"It's a Pokémon emergency!" Jenny said urgently.

The person sitting in Officer Jenny's sidecar stood up and I realized it was Ash. "Please help it!" he begged. There was a badly wounded Pikachu in his arms.

Nurse Joy rushed up to them and took Ash's Pikachu into the emergency treatment room. Ash just stood there, staring at the closed doors. Officer Jenny rode her motorcycle out of the Pokémon Center as Wartortle and I walked over to Ash.

"Ash?"

He jumped when I said his name. He turned and his startled expression turned into a confused one. "Kylee? What are you doing in Viridian City?" he asked.

Wartortle and I lifted our bags. "Grandpa asked me to pick up a few things from the stores here for him." I replied. I sat down on the bench nearby and motioned for him to sit beside me. He didn't budge. I patted the seat beside me again. He hesitated, but forced his legs to move and sit next to me. "I had forgotten that you were starting your journey today. I haven't gone farther than Viridian City, but I've been thinking about going on a journey myself so that I can learn more about being a Pokémon breeder and photographer." He didn't respond and I saw he seemed like he was troubled by something else too. "Tell me what happened," I asked calmly.

"Faith followed me when I left Pallet Town and said she was going to come with me." He said. "We were attacked by a bunch of Spearow and got separated."

"Then what are we doing just standing around? Let's go look for her. Leave your Pikachu here to rest. You can't do anything for it now. You might as well be productive and search for your sister. We have Wartortle to help us out, too!"

Wartortle grinned proudly. "Wartortle!"

Ash nervously looked back at the emergency treatment room and let out a sigh. "I…I guess you're right. Let's go."

***Faith POV***

Misty had found her bike—or what was left of it—and carried it on her shoulders as we headed for Viridian City. I could see the frustration and anger at Ash clearly in her eyes about her ruined bike and I didn't blame her. When Misty and I walked into the Pokémon Center, I saw Kylee and Ash talking to each other.

"ASH!" I cried running over to him. He stood up and I pressed myself against him, my Pokémon egg still in my arms. "You're such a big dummy!"

Kylee giggled beside him. "I told you she'd be okay, Ash. We were just about to go look for you, Faith."

"Misty helped me after you stole her bike." I said looking over at Misty.

"I only borrowed it so I could save Pikachu!" Ash insisted.

"You better plan on repaying me for it." Misty said dropping the bike. "You completely ruined my bike! It was brand new!"

"Uh… hey Faith, why don't we call home and tell mom we're in Viridian City?" Ash suggested, trying to change the subject.

We called mom and told her that we were in Viridian City. Ash didn't mention us being separated or that Pikachu was hurt because he didn't want to worry her.

"Mommy, did you get my note?" I asked eagerly. "It's okay if I travel with Ash right? You don't mind, do you?"

Before mom could answer, Kylee leaned over my shoulder. "Hi Mrs. Ketchum! If you would like, I could travel with them and keep an eye on Faith for you. I've wanted to go on a journey myself for a while now."

"Oh, Kylee! You don't have to go to all that trouble. I knew this would happen." Mom said with a smile. "I got Faith's note when I got home and knew that if she was with Ash, everything would be just fine."

After we got off the phone with mom, the phone behind the front desk began to ring. Kylee ran around the desk to answer it. It was Professor Oak. Ash walked over to her and they talked with him for a few minutes while Misty and I went and sat down.

"Misty… I'm sorry about before…" I said, kicking my legs back and forth with my head down.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Faith." Misty said with a gentle smile. "Everyone has something they're afraid of."


	3. Chapter 2

After Nurse Joy brought Pikachu out of the emergency treatment room, we all rushed over.

"Is Pikachu gonna be okay Nurse Joy?" Kylee asked her, and she nodded.

"You're Pikachu's resting, it's a good thing you got it here so fast." Nurse Joy said to Ash. "A good night's rest in the recovery room and Pikachu will be good as new."

Suddenly, an alarm started going off inside the Pokémon Center. It was a warning to be on the lookout for Pokémon thieves. I looked up at Kylee and asked, "What are Pokémon thieves?"

"They're bad people who steal other people's Pokémon." Kylee explained.

Two pokéballs crashed through the ceiling. A Koffing and Ekans emerged from the pokéballs and the Koffing filled the whole Pokémon Center with its smokescreen. I hugged my Pokémon egg and stepped closer to Ash.

"What are—who are they?" Ash asked.

"Don't be frightened little boy," a woman said.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," a man added.

As the smokescreen cleared, we saw the man and woman standing beside the Koffing and Ekans.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

A Meowth landed between Jessie and James and added, "Meowth! That's right!"

My eyes widened. "That Meowth talked!" I exclaimed excitedly. "It talked! It talked!"

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked, completely ignoring what I said.

"They just don't get it, do they?" Jessie said.

"How can we? You're not making any sense." Kylee added.

"We're here for the Pokémon." James said.

Kylee stepped in front of her Wartortle. "You're not getting _our_ Pokémon."

"We're not interested in your pathetic and weak Pokémon."

"We seek only _rare _and _valuable _Pokémon."

"You're wasting your time." Nurse Joy told them. "This is a center for weak and injured Pokémon."

"That may be so, but I wouldn't be surprised if we found a few Pokémon gems among all the junk." Jesse said.

"Pokémon aren't junk!" I shouted angrily. "How can you talk about them like that?"

"You're starting to bug me." Ash added.

"Isn't that cute," Jessie smirked.

"The boy's bugged." James laughed. "Koffing, attack!"

"Ekans, go!"

Ash pushed Pikachu's stretcher and we all ran down the hall. We ducked into the nearest room right before the power went out.

"They must've cut the power." Nurse Joy said. "But we've got our own Pika-power source." She showed us a room with a bunch of Pikachu using their electricity to power the Pokémon center.

"That's so cute!" Misty, Kylee and I exclaimed in unison as Nurse Joy began transferring the pokéballs to the Pokémon Center in Pewter City.

We didn't have much time to catch our breath before the Koffing and Ekans burst into the room. Koffing collided with the shelves of pokéballs and knocked several onto the floor.

"Get those pokéballs!" Nurse Joy shouted.

"Oh, uh… right," Ash hesitated, unsure of what to do before bending down to pick up the pokéballs.

"This is war! Don't just hold 'em—throw 'em!" Misty yelled.

"Alright…" Ash picked up one pokéball and threw it. "Pokéball, here we go!"

A Pidgey came out of the pokéball, but quickly flew away when it saw Ekans.

"That thing can't beat us." Jesse said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah—well, try this one!" Ash threw another pokéball, but it was empty. "Wuah… empty?"

"We're never gonna beat them that way Ash!" I shouted irritated.

"Some of the pokéballs _are_ empty." Nurse Joy admitted.

I turned to Kylee, "Can't Wartortle do something?"

Kylee looked down at her Pokémon. "Wartortle may be a strong Pokémon, but…" Wartortle hid behind Kylee's legs. "It's scared to battle…"

Misty turned to Kylee, "Do you have another Pokémon?"

"No, Wartortle's my only Pokémon." Kylee replied.

"I guess I'm gonna have to take this into my own hands!" Misty pulled out one of her own pokéballs. "You three take Pikachu and get out of here. I'll take care of these three clowns."

"That's awfully big talk coming from such a little lady." Jesse mocked.

"You're right about the pretty part, thanks for the compliment." Misty replied.

"The girl thinks she's pretty." James said turning to Jesse. "What do you think?"

"I think she's pretty too—pretty _pathetic_."

"I'll show you!" Misty looked over her shoulder. "You three get going!"

"Uh, right!" Ash grabbed my hand while Kylee grabbed Pikachu's stretcher and we took off. We were running so fast that I nearly tripped over my own feet. Kylee ran ahead of us with Pikachu and I saw that the Koffing and Ekans were gaining on us.

Pikachu's stretcher collided with Misty's ruined bike and knocked Kylee backwards, knocking all three of us to the ground.

"Pika Pika!"

All of a sudden, a bunch of Pikachu came out of nowhere and formed a Pika-pile. They sent an electric shock attack at Koffing and Ekans and it hit them just as Jesse and James reached their Pokémon. Ash's Pikachu climbed to the top of the Pika-pile.

"Pikachu—you're alright!" Ash exclaimed.

"Do I have to do everything myself? Just wait, Pikachu you're mine." Meowth started walking towards Pikachu. I ran forward and stepped on Meowth's tail. "OWWWWW! Get off my tail!"

"Leave Pikachu alone!" I said angrily as Pikachu tried to tell Ash something.

"Ash, try giving Pikachu more power!" Kylee said.

"Okay…" he turned over Misty's bike and began peddling like crazy. The light on the bike began to light up. "Faith, get out of the way!"

I let go of Meowth's tail and ran over to Kylee as Pikachu hopped onto the light and absorbed its electricity.

"Faith, shield your eyes." Kylee warned, turning my head away as Pikachu attacked Team Rocket.

***Samantha POV***

As I passed by the Pokémon Center, I noticed a boy and three girls heading for the Viridian Forest. The youngest of the three girls held a Pokémon egg in her arms, the oldest girl had a Wartortle by her side and the boy had a Pikachu on his shoulder. I figured they must be on their Pokémon journey, but the little girl seemed to be a bit too young.

"I wonder where they're off to." I said aloud. I looked down at my Persian who was walking beside me. "What do you think? Think they're starting their Pokémon journey together?"

Persian meowed in response. Out of everyone I've met in Viridian City, Persian was the only one who was ever really my friend. I never really tried making friends anyway, it didn't seem worth it to me. Not to mention, father always taught me that the only one you can truly trust is yourself.

"Welcome back, Miss Samantha," one of the maids said when I got home. "Your father wants to see you right away."

"Thank you," I said politely. Persian went off to my room while I went to my father's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in," my father's voice boomed from the other side of the door.

"You wanted to see me sir?" I asked, closing the door behind me. Even though he was my father, after he became the leader of Team Rocket, I was never to address him as such.

"Yes," he turned his chair around so we were facing each other. "I'm sure you are aware of what happened at the Pokémon Center last night."

I nodded. "Yes sir,"

"It seems those three idiots stumbled upon a very special Pokémon there." He leaned back and stroked his Persian's head.

"Are you sure it was not just a fluke?" I asked folding my arms. "Those three are probably trying to look smart so they can gain your favor."

"That _is_ a possibility, but even if that's the case, I want _you_ to keep an eye on those three. We don't need them embarrassing all of Team Rocket."

"Understood." I started to leave but stopped. "Was that all?"

"Yes, you are dismissed."

"Yes sir." When I left his office, I went to my room to get what I needed. Persian was lying on my bed and sat up when I walked in. "Guess what, Persian? Father's given me my first assignment." I had concealed my excitement in my father's office, but now I allowed a smile to spread across my face. "It may be a low-level assignment, but it's still my first one."

I changed my clothes and grabbed the pre-packed knapsack from my closet. I was never sure when I would get my first assignment, so I always kept a bag packed just in case. I double-checked that I had everything I needed before I left my room.

"Well, Persian, let's go make the boss proud." With that, I headed out to start my assignment, Persian at my side.


End file.
